Cause We Love Trouble!
by riotboi
Summary: Sirius does not die in the Ministry battle. Instead he is taken in by Remus and Tonks and finds himself being drawn to them. So, he sets out to seduce both of them simultaneously! Sirius/Remus/Tonks, polyamory. Warnings: sexual situations, foul lang.
1. Chapter 1

'Cause We Love Trouble: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own none of the important stuff.

About: I wanted to play around with the idea of a polyamorous relationship and this kind of created itself spontaneously! Sirius/Remus/Tonks. Also! As with all of my stories there will be truly foul language occasionally. I believe the first F-bomb shows up in the third sentence, so just a heads up, I guess!

Notes: Sirius will not die in the Ministry attack as per canon, because that's just no fun and if he did I wouldn't be able to write this! Remus and Tonks take Sirius in after the Ministry attack and he begins to rediscover his boyhood feelings for his old friend while also finding himself drawn to Tonks. Naturally, Sirius being Sirius, he decides to simultaneously woo his two friends and they discover together all new ways of loving one another.

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><p>They floo'd out of the Ministry in a flurry of arms, legs, and curses. Not magical curses, mind you, just the purely mundane, delightfully profane ones.<p>

"Jesus mother-fisting Christ!" Sirius cried as he was pushed unceremoniously into the closest fireplace by his best friend. The fight at the Ministry had come to an abrupt halt, ending in the Minister's discovery of indisputable evidence that Voldemort was back. Seeing Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, possessed by Voldemort right in front of one's eyes certainly left little room for argument!

Unfortunately, Sirius was definitely still a wanted man and his friends had no intention of letting him be captured. So, despite how stunned into inaction the group of Ministry higher-ups and experienced Aurors seemed, they took no chances and so Sirius found himself being dumped into the magical transport system.

They landed in a disorganized heap of appendages in the kitchen of #12 Grimmauld Place.

"Will you please get off of me?" Remus said, sounding remarkably squished.

"To whom are you speaking, Mooney?" Sirius inquired idly. He was definitely baiting his longtime friend, but honestly did not know who had to move first so they could untangle themselves.

" I think one of you has their knee in my boob," said the pink haired woman underneath Sirius. "At least, I don't _think_ my legs can bend that far..."

"Oops, sorry, Tonks," Remus apologized and shifted his knee. This movement seemed to be the catalyst and they all tumbled off each other onto separate bits of floor.

"Oh thank Merlin," Tonks sighed. "Not that I don't love your knees, Remus, but they are bony!"

"No offense taken, Nymphadora," the werewolf replied good naturedly. Sirius smiled widely. It did not matter that he had nearly been killed twenty minutes earlier, a good fight always got his adrenaline pumping, which he loved. Almost as much as he loved wreaking havoc and mayhem with his best friend. They had had precious little occasion to recently, Sirius being an escaped convict and all, put a bit of a damper on the amount of shenanigans they could get up to. Sirius was trapped in his family's old home except under extreme circumstances and Remus was always busy running about for the Order. Tonks was good fun though, Sirius was finding. She was about the house often and loved to help him pull pranks on Kreatcher, his increasingly homicidal house elf.

The pink haired woman caught the look of utter glee on Sirius' face and returned it enthusiastically. "What are you two grinning about?" Remus inquired. "You look like mental ward escapees."

"Just because you don't enjoy the thrill of a good fight as much as Tonks and me," Sirius began slyly.

"Don't enjoy it?" Remus replied. "Do you even know me, Padfoot?"

"I'm just having some fun," Sirius said placating his friend.

"We all know you enjoy a good rumble every now and again, old man," Tonks said, picking up where Sirius left off teasing the greying werewolf.

Ten minutes later they collapsed in the kitchen chairs, again panting for their breaths. Remus never took reference to his greying hair well and had immediately begun chasing the other two about the house. Two times up and down the squeaking stairs had been more than enough and they had all ended back up in the kitchen.

"Wonder when everyone else will be getting back," Tonks mused. It had been a good half an hour since they quit the hullabaloo at the ministry, but so far they had yet to see another Order member return to the headquarters.

"Can't be long now. Dumbledore wouldn't let the Ministry pick over Harry for long after what he went through," Remus said looking suddenly much more serious. Sirius too quieted down as he thought of his godson. He was sure the boy was fine, he was with Dumbledore after all, but he still worried about him near constantly. Ever since their reunion in Harry's third year Sirius had felt extremely attached to the son of his childhood friend.

They sat there for a few moments in silence and Tonks levitated a kettle over to the table along with three mugs. The old kettle boiled in a matter of seconds under her wand and poured it's contents into the waiting mugs. Tonks did not need to ask, she already knew how both Sirius and Remus took their tea. Sirius' cup received a dash of milk, Remus' a veritable boatload of sugar, and Tonks took her's plain. All three focused on their drinks, awaiting the return of their companions in arms.

The rest of the Order of the Phoenix trailed in slowly, Dumbledore and Harry not arriving until everyone else was assembled. Molly Weasley had been flitting around the kitchen like a coked out butterfly for the last fifteen minutes and when she saw Harry's messy head of hair come round the door jam she flew straight over to him, wrapping him up her arms with a mother's love.

"Molly, please," Dumbledore had to prompt her to get Molly to move so Harry could sit down. He sat down next to Sirius and he gave his godson a lopsided smile. Harry smiled back, but there was little happiness in the gesture, mostly just exhaustion.

"My friends," Dumbledore began. "After tonight the Ministry can no longer refuse to acknowledge the fact that Voldemort has indeed returned. They have seen him with their own eyes. But, I warn you, this will not make our task any easier. I do not anticipate the Ministry being of much help to us in the coming battles. We must continue to build up our strength as much as we can, continue to support Harry, and push towards the end of this horrible war."

There was little to say that night. Injuries were taken care of, friends were checked up on, and then everyone trickled off to their own homes. Harry was taken off to the Burrow for the night with his friends Ron and Hermione, Dumbledore had decided Harry needed a warm, cheery environment for the next few days. Finally only Sirius, Remus, and Tonks were left with Dumbledore.

"I am glad you three are here," said Dumbledore. "Sirius I need to speak to you and it would be best if Remus and Tonks were present as well."

"What is it, Dumbledore?" Asked Sirius, instantly on alert.

"You were spotted at the Ministry tonight, Sirius," said the old man, looking sadly at Sirius. "I'm afraid that it may no longer be safe for you to live here. It is your family's home and though we have it protected, we can never be certain."

"Bollocks," Sirius swore under his breath. He had not been very careful tonight, he knew that, but he had thought that Remus and Tonks had managed to get him out before anyone noticed. Apparently not.

"You can't be suggesting, Dumbledore," cut in Remus, concern evident in his voice, "that Sirius go back on the lam?"

"No, no," Dumbledore said dismissively. "That is why I am glad you two are here. Am I right in thinking, Remus and Nymphadora, that you are currently living together?"

Tonks blushed. Sirius was fascinated to find that her cheeks did not turn pink, as was usual, but a kind of vibrant orange. Something to do with being an Metamorphmagus, maybe?

"Yes, that's right," she said, sounding almost defensive.

"Please, do not be offended," Dumbledore said. "I was merely wondering if you two could take Sirius in for the time being. He needs somewhere new to live and I can think of nothing better than housing him with two trusted Order members."

"Of course we'll take him in," Remus cut in. "You don't even need to ask."

Sirius was touched by Remus' eagerness, though he had not expected anything different from his old friend. Remus was particularly loyal and always had been.

"I'm glad," said the old man. "You three may leave as soon as Sirius has gathered up his things. I will see that your apparition goes unnoticed."

And so it was that Sirius found himself falling asleep that night in the spare bedroom of a country cottage in the middle of who-knows-where. Remus and Tonks were getting ready for bed a room over, he could hear them speaking quietly, and for a second he envied their intimacy. He had had so little opportunity to be physically or emotionally close to anyone for the past decade. But he put aside his jealousy. Here in the country he and Remus could run freely and the thought of not being trapped inside was enough to carry him happily to sleep.

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><p>And so Sirius sweetly goes to sleep! To sleep perchance to dream? Who knows. All I can say is that lots of fun stuff is coming up!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

'Cause We Love Trouble: Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own none of this and I'm absolutely certain none of this was the owner's intention for their characters. But...oh well!

Warnings: Will contain mature relationships. Sirius/Remus/Tonks (together, not separately). Also language! Language, if anything at this point, is the reason for the M rating...that will not always be the case! Fun stuff to come!

Notes: I think this is going to be fun. It's definitely going to be a lighter, fluffier story than I usual feel compelled to write. So let's see how it goes! Also, thanks for the feedback thus far, I am also very excited about stories where Sirius lives. Why did he have to die? Just to make sure Harry stays completely orphaned, so he can achieve whatever, it's such a Disney plot twist. No one in Disney is allowed happy family lives, it seems. But anyway, on to the next chapter!

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><p>A huge dark suffocating mass pressed in around Sirius. He struggled, desperate not to touch the sides, but they ballooned and bulged till they were inches away from his skin. Sirius had no idea why he did not want to touch the thing, but he could feel the dread. It wasn't the arctic cold of the Dementors, that left you feeling like all the air in the world was so frozen and too solid to respond when you tried desperately to breathe in. No, Sirius knew that feeling well. This was different. With Dementors you had the sense of something being...missing...which in and of itself was cause for hope, if you thought about it long enough. If there was something you could be missing, wasn't that all the more reason to hold on? Instead, the suffocating mass pressing in on him felt like absolute nothingness. And it was the most terrifying thing Sirius had ever experienced.<p>

He was trapped, hemmed in on all sides by the dark thing. Sirius felt it touch his elbow, although it would be more accurate to say that Sirius no longer felt his elbow. Looking down he saw the pale skin fused to the blackness and when he tried to tug his arm away the fused skin stretched like rubber instead of seperating. He had no time to problem solve. As soon as he realized his elbow was lost the darkness touched his left knee, then the top of his shoulder and his long hair. His feet had been lost before he even noticed that the darkness had swept along the floor and was rising up over his knees.

Nothingness.

Absolute nothing.

Dread filled Sirius like helium in a balloon and he screamed. He was trapped, unable to move anymore as the black stuff rose ever higher, taking parts of him with it. It covered his shoulders from behind and dripped down his chest, meeting the rising ooze eating up his stomach. Sirius was no longer sure how he kept screaming, as it rose up the column of his throat, but the loud animalistic cry continued, half-crazed and panicked.

"Sirius! Sirius!"

Two voices struggled through the thick, nearly impenetrable darkness. A small synapse fired, telling Sirius he was still alive, in some capacity. And people were calling his name.

"Sirius, mate!"

There were hands on both of his shoulders, shaking him. Wait...shoulders? Weren't his shoulders swallowed up by the encroaching darkness? They were definitely being shaken rather enthusiastically now...

Crack! Sirius' eyes shot open and his hand flew to his cheek which was now burning slightly. A grey-brown blob and a nervous grey-lavender blob were hovering in front of his hazy eyes.

"Sirius, please wake up," said Tonks' voice, sounding frightened.

"I think you definitely woke him up, Nymphadora," replied Remus' voice. "You didn't have to slap him."

"Nothing else was working!"

"You're a witch! An Auror! You can't tell me they haven't taught you to deal with hysterical people."

"Hey," Sirius finally found his voice. It startled Remus and Tonks out of their bickering.

"Padfoot!" Remus exclaimed and hugged him around the shoulders. Remus' frame was slight, almost unhealthily so, but his grip was strong as he hugged the living daylights out of Sirius.

"I don't think I necessarily qualify as 'hysterical'," Sirius grunted playfully. The relief of finding himself alive and not alone was doing wonders for his mood. Tonks reached out and put her arm around his shoulder too, smiling quietly. They all relaxed in together for a second before each withdrawing from Sirius' personal space. Sirius was a bit sorry to feel them go, he had always been a physically affectionate person and it excited him to find that his friends were just as alright with casual touching as him.

"So," he began, feeling a bit embarrassed, "I guess I woke you guys up, huh?"

"You were screaming like a banshee," said Tonks flatly.

"Like Severus when you dyed his hair red and gold in fourth year," interjected Remus good humoredly.

"That's really not funny," snapped Tonks. "Severus is one of the most valuable members of the Order and he doesn't deserve your torments, either of you." This didn't stop either Remus or Sirius sniggering inwardly at the memory, it had been truly an inspired prank!

"We're sorry, Tonks," said Sirius, attempting to offer an olive branch. Tonks, he had found, abhorred bullying, which was what she considered Sirius and his friends' treatment of Severus during school to have been. He was the only person she refused to help Sirius prank; in her words Severus had, "had more than enough grief in this lifetime." Sirius didn't know what in particular irked Tonks about the games he played on Snape, but he had given up trying to get her to participate. There were always plenty of other people to prank!

Tonks snorted, not at all deceived by the handsome man's concession. So, smiling sweetly she pushed Sirius rather hard back onto his bed saying, "And now, it's time for us all to go back to bed, I think!"

Remus nodded and the two started to head out of Sirius' bedroom. At each step they took Sirius felt more and more disconcerted. He laid his head back onto his pillow and tried to relax. It had been a dream, hardly the worst thing he had ever faced. He was used to nightmares, after years of living in Azkaban he had little else to fill his mind with at night, but this one chilled him. The ceiling over his head was sagging slightly, a few spidery cracks stretched off in several directions creating a myriad of images for his frightened mind to see. This was not going to work.

Sirius pushed aside the light blue checked sheets and obnoxiously flowered comforter. There was absolutely no way he was going to get back to sleep tonight. Not with that thing still waiting in the back of his mind. He padded silently across the aging floorboards till he found the kitchen. Fortunately it was a fair ways from the bedrooms, so the lights he created were not going to disturb Remus and Tonks. Conspicuously alone in the first cupboard was a tin of coffee which Sirius pulled immediately. Coffee was definitely going to be key in surviving the rest of tonight and, probably, tomorrow too, since he was going to be running on about four hour's sleep.

The clock said 4:30am when Tonks came into the kitchen. Sirius wouldn't have heard her coming except she banged her toe against the kitchen door frame. Seriously, how had she passed the stealth portion of the Auror physical exams? Must have had incredible scores in the rest of it, the woman couldn't so much as draw breath without knocking something over. Sirius knew that Tonks would be covered in bruises if she did not choose to cover them up. She had showed him one lazy afternoon when they were hanging around Grimmauld Place. But being a Metamorphmagus had it's definite perks, she could cover up her blotchy shins and skinned elbows with ease. As she walked in he noticed her hair was back to it's normal pink, although it was a bit faded, owing, he surmised, to exhaustion.

"Coffee?" He proffered his brightly colored mug. Tonks nodded gratefully and sat opposite of him at the small, rickety kitchen table.

She grabbed up his mug and took a long swig out of it before saying, "Oh, I suppose I should make my own..." Tonks made to stand again but Sirius, fearing she would knock something over and wake up Remus, held up a hand to stop her. A flick of his wrist brought the coffee pot over and filled up the cup.

"We can share," he said.

Dawn slowly leaked in through the kitchen's windows as Sirius and Tonks passed the mug between themselves over and over again. They spoke quietly, not touching on difficult subjects, keeping everything light. But this attention was not awkward, as it could easily have been, the two just naturally strayed away from anything that might disturb the other. They chatted amicably through the remainder of the night. The pot had been refilled and the coffee re-brewed at least twice before they heard Remus start stirring in his bedroom.

When the werewolf finally shuffled tired into the kitchen he looked at Sirius and Tonks and the one mug of coffee between them.

"Did neither of you think to just grab an extra mug?" he asked, puzzled.

A light slowly dawned in the pair's eyes. Remus rolled his and grabbed two mugs. He sat one in front of Tonks, who was currently mug-less, the last sip having gone to Sirius, and one in front of the only empty chair. "Honestly, you two are supposed to be intelligent," he yawned before pouring out a new round of coffee for all.

Sirius reflected later that day, as he wandered around the property alone in the sun, that he was really glad Remus had seemed unperturbed by what he found when he woke up that morning. Not that Sirius had ever known Remus to be particularly jealous but there were some people who could have blown the whole situation out of proportion. James had been that type. Once, he had found Sirius chatting with Lily alone in the library, and it was just friendly, Sirius swore, but James had been in a snit for days. It was the only reason James had, as the unspoken leader of their group, chosen Snape as their prey. Lily had been oddly close to the Slytherin bookworm and James had been absolutely certain Snape had designs on her. And so began their feud.

But Remus wasn't like that. He could tell was competition and what wasn't and, moreover, he knew both Sirius and Tonks very well. He knew Sirius was a flirt and could differentiate between flirtacious Sirius and friendly Sirius. And he obviously loved and trusted Tonks whole-heartedly, otherwise he would not have let her around him with all of the risks involved. Sirius remembered trying desperately to get Remus to be jealous during their time a Hogwarts. He was positive the werewolf had had feelings for him but, try as he might, Sirius had never managed to get his friend to show it. I wonder if he remembers all the shit I used to pull, Sirius thought idly. Wonder if he knows why I did it? He laughed a little to himself. Well, he thought, if I ever get Remus to myself like I had Tonks this morning, I just might tell him! His face should be priceless!

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><p>Sirius had a crush on Remus? Juicy gossip! They are all such good friends, let's make them more, shall we?<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**'Cause We Love Trouble: Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing whatsoever!

**Warnings**: Foul language and intimate relationships. Also, complete disregard for canon.

**Notes**: This is fun to write, it has rather more lighthearted characterization than I'm used to. I have little to no self confidence, so it's an exciting challenge to write Sirius, who very much does. Some cute flashbacks in this one, hope you enjoy!

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><p>Late that afternoon as the sun glowed over the tops of the distant line of trees like a halo Dumbledore appeared at the cottage. Sirius was still out enjoying the property and reveling in the freedom. He had found a small gully in the southeast corner of the field which was where he spent the majority of the day, sunning himself on the small embankment and snoozing. In the bright sun it was hard to let his nightmare haunt him and he felt safe drifting in and out of slumber.<p>

His thoughts were quite happy, in fact, reliving his days at Hogwarts and his whole-hearted crush on Remus. Sirius remembered the first day he noticed it. The weather had been drippy all day, pushing it's influence even into the castle, casting a damp, chilly pallor over everything. Sirius and James had been sitting on one of their beds in the dormitory playing chess, Peter was off somewhere, and Remus had settled himself on the windowsill, wrapped in a thick blanket.

"Haha! Got you!" James had shouted truimphantly as he prodded his knight towards Sirius' king. "Checkmate!"

"Remus," whined Sirius, "get down here and help a pal out?"

Remus had turned to him then and just smiled. There wasn't anything particularly interesting about the smile, it wasn't like Sirius had never seen his friend smile before, but something about it wedged the breath in Sirius' lungs and refused to let him exhale. It was just so damn beautiful, he remembered thinking.

"Oi, Padfoot!" James threw a pillow at Sirius' head and the moment ended, but not before it left a huge impression on the young man. It had not taken long before Sirius had set his bookish friend as his prey. Sirius loved games of cat and mouse, and make no mistake, he was always the cat. Remus was going to be his, eventually.

Unfortunately, they never really had had the chance. No matter how much Sirius pursued Remus through the years he never got much more than hints that Remus even noticed. Then the war had taken over their lives and Sirius...well...he'd been in jail for over a decade, hadn't he? So that ship had definitely sailed and now Remus seemed to be extremely happily involved with Tonks.

Sirius sighed, reached his hand under his thigh and pulled out a pebble that had been digging into his flesh. Too bad, he thought, I would love another crack at it. But I couldn't break up Remus and Tonks' relationship. It seems to be doing him so much good and, anyway, I like Tonks a lot! Ah well...

"Sirius!" Remus' voice rang out from the direction of the cottage, startling Sirius out of his musings. He picked himself up and dusted of his jeans. Sirius loved Muggle clothing, it was comfortable, easy to move in, and in his opinion, made him look damn fine. Perhaps he was a bit conceited, but that had never stopped him before!

"Yeah, I'm coming!" He hollered with his hands cupped around his mouth.

Dumbledore was sitting at the small table, his purple robes spread majestically around him when Sirius stepped through the screened back door into the kitchen. Remus was leaning against the sink and Tonks had perched herself up on the counter next to her lover. They were looking serious but Dumbledore still twinkled.

"Please sit, my friend," Dumbledore said magnanimously, as though it was his home and not Remus and Tonks'. Although, come to that, Sirius didn't actually know whose home it was, he'd never asked. Still, he pulled a chair out and settled himself kitty-corner to the Headmaster so he could face everyone in the room.

"As I was saying to Remus and Nymphadora just before you came in," Dumbledore started, "I think it is best if you use this house as the base of your operations from here on out. It provides Remus enough room during the full moon to transform safely and is completely hidden. I notice, Sirius, you were already taking advantage of that today."

"Base of operations?" Sirius asked, head cocked to one side.

"Dumbledore has asked us to do research for Harry while we are here since he is busy with school work and, frankly, hasn't been informed of everything Dumbledore knows about the situation," Remus cut in.

"Obviously Tonks can't help out during the day due to her job," he continued, "but she can acquire things from the Ministry, if we need it. And she will be around in the evenings to help us bounce ideas around."

"Just how are we supposed to do research if we are stuck out here?" Sirius asked.

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore intoned. "Well, Sirius, all it takes is a simple spell to connect a door in this home, say somewhere in the cellar where few people will walk through it unsuspectingly, to my private library at Hogwarts."

"Bullshit," said Tonks. The expletive had surprised everyone in the kitchen, including Tonks herself, because she blushed bright orange and gasped. "I-I-I mean," she sputtered, "it's obviously not simple magic. But I guess that's why you are here, Dumbledore."

"Indeed, Nymphadora," Dumbledore smiled a little mischievously. "It is 'bullshit', as you say."

Sirius, Tonks, and Remus all gaped at Dumbledore who continued blithely, "But I am perfectly capable of preforming such a spell, so there is no need for worry."

"Ahhh," Sirius was still at a loss hearing Dumbledore, who he wasn't even sure had ever cursed in his entire long life, swear. But he tried to carry on, "So, why don't you have someone at Hogwarts do this research? Actually, I don't know why you even need someone to research anything! I think we are all operating under the idea that you know everything, Dumbledore."

"Well, that would be absolutely silly of you," said the old man. "Naturally I cannot know everything. As for why not someone at Hogwarts, well, everyone there is quite busy. The staff have their duties as well as the extra work of protecting the students and the students themselves have not learned enough to understand what they need to look for. As neither of you two can go out in the world and have been, I must admit, quite the intellectual duo since your time at school it seems an ideal situation."

Remus caught Sirius' eye. They shrugged simultaneously. That was all it took, they were decided.

"So just what are we researching, Dumbledore?" Tonks inquired.

"Ah, now that is an interesting question," Dumbledore settle back in his seat a little, making himself comfortable. "Unfortunately, I do not have a solid answer. Voldemort has proved difficult to kill, as you all are well aware. I'm afraid all I can say is that we need a lead. There has to be something that can defeat him and we need you all to find it."

"Are you sure you have nothing a little more...concrete?" asked Remus uncomfortably. Dumbledore could not seriously mean that he was placing the outcome of the war on their shoulders. Surely this should be up to more than the three of them?

"I'm afraid I do not, Remus," sighed Dumbledore. "I did not expect Voldemort to return as soon as he did and I did not use the interim to prepare properly. Had I had better foresight I could have done this myself, but as it is, I must rely on others."

"Well, I suppose we'll have to do our best," Remus said helplessly.

"I cannot ask any more of you," said Dumbledore, standing and heading towards the door to the cellar. "Now, let us perform this 'bullshit' spell, shall we?"

Tonks slapped her forehead. This was getting ridiculous. She certainly knew never to swear in front of the Headmaster again!

Following the old man, Tonks, Remus, and Sirius trooped downstairs into the dark cellar. All three lit their wands to provide light and instantly wished they hadn't. Cobwebs were draped thick over every surface, most still crawling with large, fat spiders. Their myriad eyes glinted under the magical light and the silken webs gleamed eerily.

"Ugh!" Remus squealed ignobly.

"Come on Remus," Tonks admonished, "don't be such a girl."

She didn't seem any more eager to head into the labyrinth of sticky web than her lover, however. Dumbledore was standing in the middle of the room, seemingly completely unperturbed by the arachnids or their traps, looking around slowly.

"Ah hah!" He said triumphantly. "I was certain there would be a door down here." He then moved over to the southernmost wall, somehow not disturbing any of the webs.

"Oh for Merlin's sake," Sirius growled. A quick sweep of his wand rid the cellar of spiderwebs and he trotted down the rest of the stairs to Dumbledore's side.

"That was quite rude, Sirius," said Dumbledore without turning to look at him. "Those spiders had just as much right to live here as you."

"What?" Sirius exclaimed.

"And you may find yourself with a bit of a pest problem now," Dumbledore continued. Remus and Tonks joined them, facing a truly miniscule door set in the dirt wall of the cellar.

"Dumbledore," Remus questioned, "don't you think this door is perhaps a bit...small?"

The door stood no more than two feet tall and was quite narrow. It did not seem to have been opened in a long time, the hinges were red with powdery rust and the wood was rotting from the bottom up.

"You three," Dumbledore said amused, "do you ever stop complaining? I believe this door was used mainly by house elves, when any lived here."

No one dared speak after that. Dumbledore seemed to take their silence as grudging approval, he pushed his sleeves up and took out his wand. A light blue glow pulsated around the tip of his wand and slowly spread out to envelope all four of their bodies, though they did not hear the old man say a word. The light spread and spread until it reached the wooden door. Tonks, Sirius, and Remus all felt suddenly compelled to reach out. Their hands flew forward and they followed them to the door, each one touching the door in turn, feeling the magic pulse through their bodies when they came in contact with the wood. Dumbledore came forward last and touched the tip of his wand to the door. Immediately the light disappeared, leaving everyone feeling cold.

Great magic often affected the environment around it and Sirius would not have been entirely surprised to find that the cellar air had chilled a full ten degrees. He acknowledged, as did everyone, that Dumbledore was a great wizard, but he had just tampered with physical space, causing two places that shouldn't touch ordinarily to be in contact with each other. It was seriously difficult and dangerous magic and Sirius found himself awed by the burden that was being laid on their shoulders. For Dumbledore to undertake such magic just to get someone to read through old books, well, something big must be afoot, Sirius mused.

"Let's give it a try, shall we?" said Dumbledore lightly although Remus noticed that the old man was breathing a little heavier than usual.

Tonks reached out and pulled the door open with some difficulty. It had been shut for so long it took a some manhandling to open. Through the small portal shone candlelight and peering through Tonks exclaimed, "It's Hogwarts! I'm sure of it. But I've never seen this room before..."

"That is because it is my private library," Dumbledore said, a hint of self satisfaction in his voice. However, he had earned the right to be a little smug, so it was ignored.

Tonks bent forward and crawled through the small door, Sirius following quickly. He tried not to notice Tonk's rear was quite nicely shaped as she emerged into the large library in front of him but failed miserably. Remus came through right after him and then Dumbledore, who, though no one noticed, did not crawl, but simply walked through. He decided not to inform them for now that the spell would let them pass through the door without regard to their physical size, it was more fun to watch them struggle through. It had been a tricky piece of magic, but it had worked exactly the way he expected, as usual.

"Welcome," he said, "to my library. Please, friends, make yourself at home. I imagine you will have to spend quite a large portion of your time here from now on."

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><p><strong>Well now, isn't Dumbledore being silly? I love the thought of him cussing. It's like that hot sauce commercial with the grandmother saying, "I put that shit on everything...". To clarify, because I'm not entirely sure it was clearly stated, the spell Dumbledore performed bends space so that part of the wall in the cellar bumps up with a part of Hogwarts. So yes, serious stuff. Well, thanks for reading this far, folks! I'm enjoying this one a lot!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

'Cause We Love Trouble: Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I highly doubt any of this was what JKR intended and I own none of it!

Warnings: Will contain an adult relationship between 3 consenting adults and more than occasional swearing.

Notes: Man, have I been busy! Glad I got through this one though. Sirius and Remus have some sexual tension time, which we've all wanted! Please leave a review if you like, that'd be awesome! My chapters always look so much longer in Word, it's a bit disappointing when I put them up here and find that four pages shrinks down to, like, next to nothing. Makes me appreciate just how much folks have to write to get substantial chapters in this format!

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><p>The oak planks under Remus' head were now as warm as he was; when he had lain his forehead there they had been pleasantly cool, but that little spot of comfort was rapidly fleeing. Had it only been three days since Dumbledore had created the link between the cellar and his private library? No, not library, Remus thought, libraries had finite amounts of books, even wizarding ones. No matter how far he and Sirius trekked back into the recesses of the library more books appeared. Three days of constant searching for something, anything that might help had left Remus in a remarkably foul mood and instead of taking it out on his companion-in-trials, he had retreated to a dark corner in private.<p>

Sirius' eyes occasionally flicked over to where Remus sat, slumped over a desk in defeat. He had a huge ancient tome balancing on his knee which Sirius suspected might be bound in troll leather. It was grey-ish, lumpy, and exuded a rather nasty smell which was exactly why Sirius had picked it up. There was no way this book didn't contain dark spells, it was just too obvious. Unfortunately, his enthusiasm was waning, this being the hundredth stereotypically dark book he had perused with no result. If only Dumbledore had given them even a hint! Sirius was beginning to suspect that Dumbledore had simply felt bad for the pair of them, sequestered out in the country with nothing to do but Apparate into battle occasionally, and created a Sisyphean task to keep them busy for the remainder of the war. Either that or the old man held tea parties at the country cottage every afternoon and their presence there was cramping his style. Merlin only knew...

The once convict slammed the repulsive book closed and let it drop heavily to the floor. With a sigh he leaned back in his chair, tipping it back onto two legs as he had been want to do during particularly boring lessons at school. James had always tried to knock the remaining legs out from under him but until he got sufficiently proficient in wordless magic Sirius had always been able to preempt the friendly attacks. The first day he couldn't prevent it Professor McGonagal had blithely assigned James ten points to Gryffindor and then continued with her lesson plan as scheduled, Sirius nursing his sore head on the stone floor. There was no one to knock his chair out from under him now, Sirius thought mawkishly. James had been dead for years and Peter had been a traitor for as long...but there was Remus! Sirius tried to keep his face from showing his delight as he recalled his thoughts from a few days previous about how Remus' face would look if informed of Sirius' boyhood crush. They were good enough friends it shouldn't cause any serious tension, Sirius mused, and they weren't getting anywhere with this bullshit research, so who was to say he couldn't have a little fun that afternoon?

Decided, Sirius stood and sauntered over to where Remus lay prone. He pulled up a chair, leaned back in it, and put his feet up on the desk inches from Remus' head.

"What is it Padfoot?" Remus' voice was a bit muffled due to being pressed face first into the table.

"Oh nothing," said Sirius happily. "Just reminiscing."

"Reminiscing doesn't exactly seem your style, old friend," said the werewolf.

"Just now I was remembering that time McGonagal gave James points for knocking my chair out from under me," Sirius said, not replying to Remus' remark.

Remus didn't lift his head but he did laugh tiredly into the table top, which Sirius took as a good sign.

"I had completely forgotten about that," Remus said. "The look on your face..."

I bet it wasn't half as good as yours is going to be, Moony, Sirius thought mischievously.

"You know what else I've been remembering recently?" He asked.

"No," Remus sighed and finally sat up. "What have you been remembering? Just let me know first if it's depressing, I don't think I could handle it right now."

"Oh come on now, Moony, it's just a bit of research. Look at you getting all soft!"

"You are just as annoyed as me that Dumbledore left us without any direction, so stop that super-satisfied grinning, Padfoot."

"Super-satisfied?"

"Yes! I have never met anyone perpetually as self-satisfied as you, not even James!"

Sirius laughed loudly. Perhaps his ego was a little large. "Not that you mind though, huh? I bet you think it's totally endearing," he teased.

"Endearing?" repeated Remus, his voice an octave higher than usual. "I suppose, if you like over inflated egos it would be endearing."

"I'm glad you like it so much, Remus!" Sirius smiled widely. "Why in fact, with the way you continue to hang around me in spite of my admittedly enormous ego I'm beginning to suspect you like me just as much as I liked you in school!"

Remus stared blankly at Sirius for ten full seconds. The evil glint he knew so well was fully installed in Sirius' eyes but Remus didn't know which part of this set up had been the joke. It could not possibly be that Sirius was bringing up how he incessantly hit on the shy Remus during school just for memory's sake. He thinks I just never noticed, though Remus, did I really ignore him that well...?

"So, Padfoot," Remus broke the silence, "you honestly think I never noticed your pitiful attempts at hitting on me when we were in school?"

The grin melted off Sirius' face. How? What? I guess that's what I get for having best friends, he grumbled inwardly, they can read through my tricks in a second flat! But! The grin was reinstated, if Remus wanted to play mean, he would too!

"Well, Moony, I'm surprised! You never seemed to notice while we were at Hogwarts. That seems downright rude if you ask me!"

"Rude? No ruder than your repeated attempts to embarrass me in front of our friends."

"I never tried to embarrass you...well, not much. I truly did want you to notice me."

"Well, unfortunately for you, I'm not interested in people who are sure they piss the elixir of life and shit goblin gold, Padfoot," Remus was matching Sirius' grin now, his slightly longer than average canines exposed.

"Oh no?" Sirius stood up. He went round the table and hauled Remus to his feet by his collar. "What is a better way of gaining your affection then?"

"The usual," Remus replied lightly. "Sweet attentions, friendly joking, light touches...nothing someone as direct as you would understand!"

"So, if I threw you against the wall," Sirius said as he backed the werewolf up against the stone wall, one hand still on his collar and the other planted on the wall next to Remus' head, "that would be entirely the wrong move?"

Their noses were touching and Remus could feel Sirius' breath against his lips. His own breath was coming in ragged gulps, to say this charade had got out of hand would be an understatement. Merlin, Sirius smelled so good, it was something Remus was prone to notice first about people, being part beast, and it had always been one of Sirius' most attractive features to him. He took a deep breath through his nose unconsciously, the smell of sharp spices flooding and overpowering the synapses in his brain. Sirius' smell was one of his two favorites in the world, the other was dark and citrusy, like orange liquor...Tonks...TONKS!

Remus pushed Sirius away a little more forcefully than he intended, but his friend recovered himself without falling over. He leaned forward, hands on his slightly bent knees, and breathed shakily. How could he let himself get carried away like that?

Sirius, unawares, was mirroring Remus' thoughts. He hadn't meant for it to go that far. A little teasing, no touching, and definitely not nearly sucking face with his best friend. No wonder Remus had pushed him away. He had seemed into it though, even if just for a second...

'Sorry," panted Remus, still half-collapsed against the wall, "are you ok?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Sirius said immediately, hoping there wasn't too much damage, friendship wise.

"I...I..." Remus tried to start several times but stopped.

"Don't worry about it, mate," Sirius replied. "I was totally out of line, sorry."

"No really, I need to tell you this. I did notice the way you hit on me in school. It was pretty flattering and I liked you quite a bit, myself," Remus said, his hand raised to stop Sirius from interrupting. "But I'm with Tonks now. No matter how much I...I...well, I might enjoy horsing around with you like this, I can't betray her trust."

"Well you could always ask her to join in!" Sirius regretted it almost as soon as it left his lips. Man, why did his flippancy always get the better of him even in serious situations? Remus however, didn't seem to be too bothered, which was a relief.

"Let's go back home," he said instead. "it's almost six and Tonks will be back from work soon provided the Aurors don't keep her all night."

"Yeah, good idea," Sirius was altogether too glad to be avoiding the awkward situation for the time being.

The two headed back through the tiny door into the dark cellar hundreds of miles away. Light gleamed through the door at the top of the stairs and the sounds of Tonks fumbling around the kitchen and swearing quietly when things knocked over could be heard. Sirius started forward but Remus reached out and pulled him back.

"Let's keep this to ourselves, yeah?" He whispered.

Sirius couldn't see his friend's face but could hear the concern in his voice. "Don't worry, Moony. I was an ass today but I don't have any desire to fuck things up between you and Tonks, ok?" he said back quietly.

He felt more than saw Remus smile. "Thanks Padfoot. And don't you worry about it either, nothing happened, right?"

They set back off up the stairs, Remus feeling relieved but Sirius still concerned. He definitely had no intention of cocking up his best friend's life, but he had to admit that he had enjoyed the solar flares of sexual tension that had shot off of them earlier. But no, Tonks was too good of a friend now too, he wouldn't want to hurt her either. Was there a way they could work this all out between them?

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><p><strong>Well that didn't go the way Sirius had planned! Not that he plans much, he definitely more of a fly by night sort of dude. Bit of a cliffy though, let's all cross our fingers and hope they sort it all out. Relationships take serious work, especially when they involve more than just two people. Sirius seems unconsciously interested, but is he ready to put the work in?<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**'Cause We Love Trouble: Chapter 5**

Disclaimer: I own none of the HP characters/plot/money-making venture.

Notes: Ok, so this is a little short, but it's where I wanted it to end, so whatevs. I hope everyone enjoys the update! Please drop a review, if only to bring a ray of sunshine into my otherwise dull life...just kidding, I love my life. But seriously (Sirius-ly), leave a review!

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><p>With a precarious wobble and a crash the largest glass mixing bowl broke into pieces on the floor. Well, if that wasn't just representative of the whole damn day, Tonks thought inwardly. Outwardly, she shouted, "Merlin fucking balls!" Then, throwing the wet dishtowel she had mopping up a spill with down with a <em>slap<em>, the now firey red headed Tonks set everything to rights with her wand.

Why did she ever bother to do things in the kitchen without someone spotting? Or for that matter, why did she ever do anything without magic? Sure, her muscles would probably atrophy eventually, but if she didn't bump into, knock over, break one more thing in her life it may just be worth it!

Just as she had returned the mixing bowl to the counter, Remus and Sirius trouped up out of the cellar. Tonks vaguely noticed the somewhat uncomfortable looks of both their faces but was too busy staring murderous intentions at the mixing bowl and seething about her day at work to put too much thought to it. Sirius escaped out the screened back door, transforming into the enormous black dog at a run, and bound of into the dusky fields. Remus' hand reached out and rubbed circles on her lower back and eventually her hair sank from glowing unnatural red to a still unnatural but decidedly calmer pale pink.

"Are you alright, love?" Remus' asked quietly, hands still circling.

"I just...work...and then I...kitchen," Tonks grumbled. She was a little embarrassed to be caught swearing and harboring murderous thoughts about a mixing bowl, but Remus had known her long enough to understand without long explanations.

He pulled her close and, kissing her temple, began whispering sweet calming nothings. Tonks loved resting against Remus, he might look underfed but she always felt stable when he held her, like she would never be clumsy again. It was almost identical to the way she felt during battles, her movements smoothed out by adrenaline, speed, and focus. Tonks secretly longed for fights to break out, though she knew it was truly selfish, just so she could feel that freedom of movement again.

Her eyes drifted out the window. Over the fields she could see a black, bushy tail bobbing and weaving through the tall grass, once or twice Sirius even launched himself so high in his frolics that she could see almost the whole of his Animagus form. There was no rhyme or reason to his cavorting about, just graceful, animated movement. Tonks didn't give way to jealousy very often, nor did she give in to bad moods, for that matter, but right now she was jealous as Hell of her housemate.

"Tonks? Hon?" Remus' voice startled her but she knew he must have been trying to gain her attention for a while.

"Yeah, sorry love," she said, turning to face her lover. "What were you saying?"

"I was just asking if you wanted me to finish up dinner," Remus asked considerately.

Tonks hesitated, it was her turn to cook tonight, but then, with a hopeless look around the kitchen at the havoc she'd wreaked in just a few minutes she had to concede.

Remus sent her off for a bath before dinner, the best cure for Tonks' bad moods, and as she sank back into the huge claw foot tub she admitted it was the perfect idea. A flick of her wrist brought several small decorative bottles over, hovering for inspection next to the bathtub.

Let's see, Tonks mused, eucalyptus and mint, orange twist, or...rose? Where the heck had that come from? Must be a left over from whoever Dumbledore had housed here last. Way too girly. Another tiny spurt of magic sent the rose scented bottle careening towards the trashcan, the eucalyptus back the shelf, and orange right into the hot water.

Thirty luxurious minutes later Sirius' howl that dinner was ready roused her reluctantly from the bath. A quick drying spell won out over towel drying and she emerged from the bathroom in a puff of steam. Sirius immediately bumped past her into the recently vacated bathroom to wash his hands. When transforming back into human form Sirius often found that the dirt that caked his paws as he ran around as the huge black dog transferred to his hands and tonight was no exception. He was filthy! Tonks peaked back into the bathroom and Sirius waggled his muddy hands at her playfully and pretended to flick the dirt her way.

"Ugh! No thanks, I just bathed!"

She slammed the door shut and scambled into the kitchen.

"What's he doing now?" Remus laughed. "Watch out, by the way!"

A large shepherd's pie soared out the oven and landed next to the glass bowl she had broken earlier which now contained a leafy salad stuffed with dried cherries and walnuts. Sirius hated salad, Remus knew, but could manage it if there was enough in it that wasn't lettuce to make the dish more "exciting", as Sirius would say. Tonks licked her lips in anticipation and Remus chuckled as his stomach made it clear that it was definitely time to eat. Thank goodness magic made it possible to create meals in nearly half of the time as conventional cooking! How did Muggles manage to wait?

"You know, I'm really jealous of you two," Tonks said conversationally as the three of them dug heartily into Remus' homemade meal.

Both Sirius and Remus blanched and paused, forks halfway to their already open mouths.

"Why is that, Tonks?" Sirius gasped out. Had Remus decided to tell her about his indiscretions this afternoon even after he had promised Sirius to keep mum? He didn't take Tonks as the passive-aggressive type to bring it up casually over dinner, so what...? He shot a furtive glance at Remus but couldn't catch his friend's eye.

"Well, I mean, I know this is a little silly..." she began, leaving Sirius and Remus with baited breath, "but I was thinking about trying to become an Animagus. You know, so I could roam around with you two."

"Ahhh," Remus let out a strangled sigh.

"Like, Sirius said that when you were all at school they became Animagus to help you out during the full moon and I think that's a great idea. You wouldn't have to worry about me getting hurt anymore, because you'd be less likely to see me as a threat, so I could be around more!"

"So, sorry if I missed it," Sirius interjected, "but why are you jealous?"

"Oh!" Tonks sounded like she had forgotten the way she'd opened the conversation that had nearly had both of her housemates experiencing heart attacks. "Well, you have such a history already built up. It just sounds like fun."

"Well, there was always the chance that we would get on Remus' bad side, he could still bite us even if we were in animal form. It was a pretty stupid and risky venture, actually, especially for kids still in school," Sirius reminded her.

"Yeah, maybe, they were safer being around you when you were transformed, right Remus? And I'm not a schoolkid, I'm an Auror!" Tonks plead.

"I certainly don't feel the urge to go after animals when I am transformed as much as humans," Remus conceeded.

"But I guess I'd be breaking in on your boy's club," Tonks sighed.

"No, I mean, we haven't," Sirius fumbled, "we haven't actually spent a full moon that way since..."

They chewed on in silence after Sirius dropped his sentence, each lost in their own thoughts. Remus was already hesitant about letting Tonks in on that part of his life, trained Auror or not, the thought of hurting her made him a nervous wreck the day or two before each full moon. Sirius was mainly relieved that Tonks' confession of jealousy hadn't been for the reasons his mind had automatically supplied. He also mulled over the idea of joining Remus during the next full moon, he had loved their nighttime frolics, he and the werewolf howling into the silent darkness and prowling through the shadowy grounds of Hogwarts. Tonks could be a fun addition, although that did depend a bit on what form her Animagus took! What if she was a fish or a dolphin? Or a snake? That'd be a disaster.

"Well, I'm going for it and soon," Tonks said, her tone decided, as she delicately transferred the plates from table to sink. She managed to complete the clean up without a single smashed plate and grinned proudly at the pair still sitting at the table.

"I'm guessing you've already started the preparations, then?" Remus sighed.

"You bet Merlin's pants, I have." Tonks replied stubbornly. "Actually, I'm just three days away from completing the prep work."

"So soon? Nymphadora, couldn't you have at least asked me first?"

"It's not your business to say yea or nay, Remus," Tonks said with uncharacteristic sharpness. "Whether I join you during your transformation, yes, I do want your input and will value your opinion but as to whether or not I actually become an Animagus, that's my business. Why do I have to keep reminding people that I'm a damn fabulous witch, I completed the Auror training at the top of my group, and..."

With a crash she skidded on a wet patch on the floor and landed in a heap on the kitchen tiles, effectively ending her terse speech. From the red tile floor she looked up at Remus and Sirius, looking back over their chairs at her, and all three began laughing.

"Ow ow ow," Tonks complained, still laughing, as Sirius stood and lent a hand to her to her feet.

"An Animagus, huh," Sirius said after Remus had left the kitchen, still laughing, to read in the living room. "Welcome to the club." He winked. Tonks grinned widely and, Sirius noticed, as she turned to start the after dinner clean up the slightest tinge of orange blush crept up her cheeks.

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><p><strong>Sirius just can't stop flirting to save his life! What will Tonk's animagus form turn out to be? Whatever it is, I bet it will be adorable. If you have an idea feel free to let me know in a review! Later, ya'll!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**'Cause We Love Trouble: Chapter 6**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. For serious (Sirius).**

**Notes: I was really churning these out at the beginning and it is still pretty easy for me to throw the chapters together when I actually sit down to write, unfortunately my time is also being spent on nanowrimo this year which means things will be being updated less frequently. Even for me there are limits to how much I can write in one day! However, I really enjoy the stories I post on here, so they won't be entirely forgotten. Thanks everyone who has reviewed or taken not of this story, your attentions are really exciting! (Who doesn't love knowing that they've put their work out into the world and that people like it? They like me, they really like me!) So, I hope you enjoy this chapter, it has some juicy bits, and remember to review!**

**There are a few daydream sequences (well, fantasizing really) but they are clearly marked off in italics, so it shouldn't be difficult to tell where they begin and end.  
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><p>Sirius hadn't slept well since his nightmare of being enveloped by the void. Each night he tossed and turned, making his rather old twin bed squeak and groan, unable to pin down sleep for more than am hour at a time. Sure, he could hunt through the pantry and probably find a low grade sleeping potion, most households had a bottle stashed away. Or if worse came to worse, he could always ask Snape, who wouldn't poison him under Dumbledore's nose...more than likely.<p>

But Sirius had never liked taking sleeping potions. The thought of having so little control really rankled him although he was not much of a control freak in general. Even as a child he had worried that a dose Dreamless Sleep or any other potion that knocked one out cold as were often used in Healing (especially if the patient didn't want to be cooperative, it caused a lot less legal trouble than Healers simply petrifying their patients) would result in his never waking up.

Now, on top of that, with your run of the mill sleeping potion, not Dreamless Sleep which was more expensive and highly addictive, he would have the fear of not only not waking up but being caught in that dream again! So Sirius continued to toss and turn, praying that his lack of restful sleep would not leave permanent black circles under his eyes.

Tonight though, Sirius was getting annoyed. Staying awake tonight only afforded him more time to regret pouncing on Remus in Dumbledore's library which was not how he would wish to spend the hours until dawn. The scene replayed itself in his head, each time the ending was different. It reminded him of one of those Muggle films he had seen once while trying to avoid his family one summer when he was young. A story splayed out on a huge wall and the voices reverberating loud enough to almost hurt off of the walls and into his ears.

"_So, if I threw you against the wall, that would be entirely the wrong move?" Sirius asked as he roughly pushed a wild eyed Remus against the stone wall. _

"_Definitely the wrong move," Remus replied before grabbing Sirius' shoulders and quickly reversing their situation. "You know why?"_

"_Why/" Sirius gasped to regain the air that Remus had knocked out of him by throwing him against the wall. The werewolf was still pinning his arms at the shoulder and his face was a mixture of exuberant dominance and lust, a look that had Sirius tingling all over._

"_Because I'm always on top, Padfoot," Remus whispered. Sirius tried to swallow but found that his gaping mouth was dry. Then Remus bore down on him, kissing Sirius with a feral, unrestrained passion and Sirius discovered all of his playboy antics were total bollocks, Remus was obviously the master of this situation._

No, that's not how it would go! Sirius flipped over onto his stomach and stared out the window behind his headboard which faced the fields behind the cottage. There was no way he would let Remus get the upper hand like that, even if he tried, which seemed rather un-Remus anyway. No, the horribly realistic take on the situation would be more like...

"_So, if I threw you against the wall, that would be entirely the wrong move?" Sirius asked as he roughly pushed a wild eyed Remus against the stone wall. _

"_Padfoot! Don't you think you are taking this a little too far, mate?" Remus struggled against Sirius' less than playful grasp. Finally he managed to pull himself away and quickly moved so that there was a desk separating him from his childhood friend._

"_Come on, I was just playing around," Sirius cajoled._

"_No you fucking well were not playing around! Come on, you know I'm not like that!"_

"_Not like what?" Tonks' voice asked surprised. Both Remus and Sirius whirled around to find Tonks standing just inside the doorway to the library looking suspicious._

"_We were just horsing around, Tonks," Sirius said reasonably, spreading his hands out in front of him._

"_If you call throwing my boyfriend up against a wall and trying to molest him 'horsing around', Sirius," Tonks replied, making it obvious that she had been standing there for quite a while. "Merlin! I'm going to tell Dumbledore you can't stay with us anymore, Sirius. Don't you dare try to sleep at the cottage tonight or I swear on my Auror badge that I will neuter you."_

Shit, I hope it wouldn't have turned out like that! Sirius blanched at his mental picture of Tonks' fury. Surely those couldn't be the only ways it could have turned out...

"_So, if I threw you against the wall, that would be entirely the wrong move?" Sirius asked as he roughly pushed a wild eyed Remus against the stone wall. _

"_Yes, it would definitely be the wrong move, Sirius," Tonks' voice rang out from behind him. Sirius and Remus jumped apart like children who had just been informed of the existence of cooties. Tonks sidled up to them, taking her time, and much to both mens' surprise, grinning. _

"_Nymphadora, I can explain," Remus reached out placatingly but Tonks raised her hand to shush him._

"_No need. It's not like I couldn't figure out that you two had had a thing for each other."_

"_What? How?" Sirius and Remus exploded in unison._

"_I'm an Auror! I know how to read people pretty well. You two are always gazing at each other, all you have to do to know what the other is thinking is look at each other, Merlin's pants! It's so obvious."_

"_Nymphadora, I'm so sorry."_

"_You don't need to be," Tonks said as a mischievous smile lit up her face. "You just have to let me in on the fun!" _

Sirius had to stop himself right there. Absolutely no way in hell was he going to wank off to the thought of messing around with his best friend and his best friend's girl, which was what he would have ended up doing if his daydream had continued playing out! Tonks would do that though, he smiled lustily, after all that talk about breaking into our "boy's club". Yeah, she'd definitely...wait! No. Definitely not. Tonks was already happy with Remus, why would either of them want to potentially ruin their relationship by letting Sirius into the mix?

He sighed and threw the covers off. Yet another sleepless night awaited, it seemed. Instead of sitting in the kitchen and hoping that Tonks would miraculously appear to talk and share coffee, Sirius leaped out of the back door at a run, shifting into the shape of the enormous black dog without bothering to stop.

A run was definitely what he needed to take his mind away from lewd thoughts about Tonks and Remus. Night runs were always the best. The world was quiet and still save for his panting breaths and occasional yips of joy as he bounded past rabbit holes and trees of vigilant owls keeping alert for prey. Memories of nights like this had been a godsend in Azkaban. They were devoid of things that could be emotionally turned against him by the Dementors who kept watch over every prisoner's thoughts in case something in a sufficiently pliant happy memory could be made into a mental weapon. As long as he kept to recalling only midnight runs he took by himself and not the ones the Marauders had all made together, Sirius was safe to cavort across mental fields, inky and moonless, to his heart's content.

This night was turning out to be just what he wished for. After running wild for an hour over the field and through the surrounding woodland Sirius collapsed on the small embankment at the field's edge. A trickle of a creek gurgled, calling out to his parched tongue and Sirius could not refuse. The water was cold and refreshing and he had lapped up his fill.

Mind purged, at least momentarily, of less than polite thoughts, Sirius contemplated the orders Dumbledore had left them. There wasn't much to go on, honestly. Find a way to kill Voldie-pants. Ready? Go.

There had to be something they were missing...what did they know to begin with anyway? Voldemort had been presumed to be blasted to bits by his spell which rebounded off of Harry when he was an infant. But why? The thought of why such a thing had occurred really hadn't been something that bothered Sirius till now and he mulled it for a while the way one sucks on a piece of candy nearly too large for one's mouth.

There had to be something in that moment, that truly pivotal moment, that held the key to defeating Voldemort. At least Sirius hoped so...he and Remus had, metaphorically of course, been trying to knock the door down through brute force thus far. Perhaps he could ask Dumbledore about it, if the old man felt particularly loquacious one day. Sirius was absolutely certain that the Headmaster knew far more than he was letting on and it pissed him off greatly.

He'd at least bring it up to Remus tomorrow for them to discuss together as they worked. Work...he would be back in the library tomorrow with Remus. Immediately Sirius' thoughts ran wild again, much to his dismay. He doubted he'd be able to be in that confounded room again without constantly remembering the way Remus' breath had mingled with his own as he tried desperately not to ravish him right then and there against the wall.

Sirius groaned, which coming from the dog sounded more like a high pitched whine. Who would he kill to fall asleep and escape these thoughts? Snape? Definitely Snape, that was too easy. Peter? Way, way too easy. Dumbledore? The way he was stringing them along these days it didn't sound to bad...

"Sirius?"

"Padfoot?"

Two sets of voices chorused his name over and over until Sirius' bran finally registered the noises as having actual meaning. His eyes blinked open to find the world was brightly lit now, morning had obviously come without his noticing. Thank Merlin! He must have finally fallen asleep...

"Sirius, I swear, if you don't let us know where you are I'm going to jinx your balls into the next century!" Tonks yelled.

Sirius, finally awake enough, realized that Remus and Tonks must have woken up to discover him missing and in this war that usually did not bode well for the missing person's state of being.

"Here I am!" He bounded to his feet, waving one arm vigorously to catch their attention. Wait, feet? Sirius looked down and saw his bare feet, covered in mud and leaves, and the now very bedraggled hems of his striped pajama bottoms. He must have transformed back into a human as he slept, which rarely happened except when he was extremely exhausted.

"For fuck's sake, Sirius!" Remus wailed as he ran towards him. "We suspected the worst!"

Remus crashed into him, hugging the breath out of Sirius in a fierce display of affection. Before Sirius could even register Remus' hug, a hand smacked him upside the head. Tonks had apparently run up to join them and had decided to express her affection rather more...painfully.

"What in God's name did you think you were doing? Not warning anyone? Not even a note? People go missing all the time now, you could have been dead or hung up in Malfoy's dungeon for all we knew! Sleeping outside? If you want to sleep outside from now on, you mutt, at least let us build you a dog house!"

"Geez, Tonks," Sirius drawled, amused, "You sound like Molly Weasley. Planning on becoming a matronly housewife anytime soon?"

"Oh shut up you!" Tonks growled, but she stopped smacking him over the head and joined Remus in hugging the living daylights out of Sirius. They all embraced, Remus and Tonks delighted to find that their worst fears were unfounded and Sirius simply excited to be the center of attention, and then they all broke out into laughter. It began with Remus, who started chuckling quietly to himself in relief and spread to Tonks, then Sirius who let out a triumphant whoop and began to crack up.

"Come on, you idiots," Tonks grumbled happily as she finally pulled out of the group hug. "Let's go make breakfast."

They made their way slowly back to the cottage, Remus pointing out the absolutely filthy state of Sirius' pajama bottoms and Tonks remarking on how pale his bare torso was, asking slyly if he was a vampire or just related to the notoriously pale Malfoys. Sirius shot back that either way she didn't seem to mind looking, which made Tonks turn bright orange and Remus cackle.

This...this, Sirius thought to himself, was perfect. He mentally crossed his fingers and hoped that nothing would ever change.

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><p><strong>I love the opportunity to get them all happy together! It's so cute and Sirius is such a goober sometimes, which is also pretty adorbs. Note to everyone, I know I left the idea of Tonks' Animagus form out there for everyone to ponder last chapter and it's coming up soon! I think I've decided, but if you want to sway my decision, you still have time to leave a review! Also, I promise we'll be getting back to real stuff and not just dreamy-trying-to-get-everyone-together stuff soon. See you next chapter, dolls...<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**'Cause We Love Trouble: Chapter 7**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Notes: Oh my goodness, we're finally getting somewhere! Sorry to delay the Animagus transformation, I swear that's next chapter, it just didn't fit in this chapter. And I don't think you'll be upset you have to wait for it! Please drop a review and enjoy this chapter!**

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><p>A few days passed with a tacit understanding that neither Sirius nor Remus was going to broach the subject of what had happened there between them. They worked with a professional detachment; it was cool and considerate, neither got into each other's space and neither interrupted the other. In fact, that day the friends hadn't said a word to each other since they passed through the tiny enchanted door in their cellar. They simply sat themselves down where they had left off the evening previous and re-buried their respective noses back into their books.<p>

Remus was long overdue for a trip to the barber's, being a known werewolf made it rather difficult to go anywhere in public, even just going to get a hair cut, and his long light brown locks were falling into his eyes as he read. Impatiently, he blew a puff of air upwards, hoping to at least shift his bangs out of his eyes. It did no good. The hair just swung back down and in spite brushed over the tip of his nose.

Sirius looked up at Remus' seventh sneeze, a smile blossoming in schadenfreude.

"Now, Moony," he said, standing. "How do you expect us to get any work done when you are being so distracting?"

"Not my fucking problem," Remus said irritably as he rubbed his nose.

"Such language," Sirius smirked. He strolled over and perched himself the edge of Remus' desk. It was the closest physically they had been since that incident, at least, while they were alone. Technically they had sat next to each other during meals and there had been that relieved group hug when Tonks and Remus had discovered Sirius sleeping in the field, but this felt different.

Remus looked up into Sirius' face, his friend was grinning widely and was in full charm mode. He remembered this look well, Sirius had pinned him down with it like a butterfly on a cork board all too often while they were at school. Whenever Sirius got it into his head that he was going to do something nutty to get Remus' attention, and often embarrass the young werewolf in the process, that grin would appear. Any bigger and it would have seemed maniacal, especially when combined with the mischievous glint in his dark eyes. For Remus, during school, that smile had come to be associated with pure sex. Whenever he pictured doing things with Sirius, when he was alone in the shower or had the drapes drawn around his bed at night, that smug grin had always been firmly in place on dream-Sirius' face.

But what was he doing turning on the charm now? Didn't he remember the trouble it had nearly landed them in nary three days previous? Well, no one ever said Sirius had the world's best short term memory.

"I'm finished sneezing now, you cur, go back to work." Remus decided he was going to do his best to ignore his best friend. He pulled his book toward him, out from under Sirius, who had been sitting on it.

"Hey!" Sirius looked put out at having lost his pillow. "That's not very nice, Moony!"

"My apologies," Remus said without looking up.

"You don't sound very apologetic!"

When Remus didn't reply Sirius hoped off the table and bent down to peer into his friend's face.

"You didn't sound very apologetic, I said."

"Sirius, we have work to do, or have you forgotten?"

"We've_ been_ working for days without a break! Let's have some fun! Let's have some fun, Moony, please!"

The whine on the tail end of Sirius' sentence shot through Remus. They_ had_ been working, nonstop, for days without any progress. He may not have noticed it if no one had reminded him, but now that the thought had infiltrated his consciousness, he couldn't shake it. A break really would be nice!

"See!" Sirius sprang up, elated. "I can tell from your face you feel it too! I'm bored to tears and we're getting nowhere!"

"You're not half wrong," Remus sighed, all pretense of studiousness gone. He leaned back in his chair and tossed the book away.

"I'm always right! Now let's go do something!"

"Like what?"

"Well, this is Dumbledore's library, right?"

"Yes..."

"Then there has to be a way into Hogwarts! Let's go poke around."

Thirty minutes of simultaneous searching for an exit and Sirius cajoling Remus into even considering going along with his plan later they found themselves standing in an empty upstairs hallway. Behind them was the tapestry they had just stumbled out from behind, a goblin princess' marriage seemed to be the tapestry's subject...it was thoroughly hideous. Certainly not something many students were going to bother looking behind, which was presumably why it was hiding Dumbledore's library.

Remus looked nervously down to one end of the hallway and then the other. It didn't seem a very well trafficked spot, which was a blessing. How had he allowed himself to go along with this? Oh yeah, just like he always had in school whenever James or Sirius thought up some mad plot, he got to entranced by Sirius' smile to disagree. Bloody wonderful.

"Come on," Sirius plucked at his sleeve, tugging Remus down the hall. "Let's go check out the Gryffindor common room!"

"It's the middle of the day!"

"Yeah, exactly. Everyone's in classes, so no one will be there!"

They snuck down several stair cases and past several closed classroom doors, they heard McGonagal's strident Scottish brogue ripping through the door and they scurried past like truant second years. Finally they arrived at the familiar hallway that led to the Gryffindor dorms. Remus could barely believe they'd managed to get this far without being caught. He and Sirius strode confidently up the hall until...

"Padfoot! We don't know the password!" Remus suddenly realized. He could smack himself. How could they have possibly got in?

"Ah." Sirius stopped, realization also dawning on his handsome features. "I suppose we don't."

"Then what the hell are we going to do?"

"Well, we could keep mucking about..."

"Sirius! You are a wanted convict and I am a known werewolf and ex Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! What will happen if we get caught 'mucking about'?"

"Shh!"

"I mean it, Padfoot," but Sirius clapped a large hand over Remus' mouth and dragged him, shocked, into a dark niche nearby. Two grown men, they barely fit in the small nook and they had to press close together to keep their feet and hands in the safety of the shadows.

The sound of footsteps was suddenly heard coming down the hall, heavy and strident. Remus' heart nearly stopped and Sirius' grin faded a bit when Severus Snape's black figure swept into view. Oh Merlin, they thought simultaneously, if we get caught today, don't let it be by Snape!

Snape, however, didn't seem to be on a mission to catch and pick them apart for potion ingredients. Instead, he simply continued down the hall, taking a right at the first outlet, the direction of the Hospital Wing. A few seconds later his footsteps had faded and Remus collapsed onto Sirius in relief.

"Merlin, Moony! What happened to your keen powers of hearing? Or smell?" Sirius' voice was nearly a squeak. "You're a werewolf for God's sake, couldn't you have known he was coming?"

"At least you noticed before it was too late," Remus mumbled, his face pressed into Sirius' shoulder.

Sirius huffed. "Come on now, Moony," he said as he rubbed Remus' shoulders. Remus hadn't moved and was still laying, in apparent shock, against his chest, his head tucked into Sirius' shoulder. "I think we've had enough excitement for today. Let's head back, yeah?"

Remus just giggled sarcastically and didn't move. Sirius sighed and dropped his arms, laying his head down on Remus' shoulder, mimicking his friend's position. Quietly the two breathed deeply, taking comfort in each other's presence and trying to calm down.

As he calmed, Remus began to notice more and more Sirius' scent and the pleasant firmness of his body pressing up against Remus' own. The little nook they were stashed away in was rapidly heating up, two grown bodies put off more than enough heat to warm the small once chilly space. The heat, the physical proximity, and Sirius' intoxicating smell were fogging up Remus' brain. It was overwhelming. He wanted...he wanted...for so long...

Remus pushed Sirius back up against the stone wall and covered his mouth with his. It was just as scintillating as he had always imagined. Sirius' lips were soft and his jaw strong as he pressed into the kiss. Their tongues met in a confused, erotic tangle, both seemingly desperate to consume each other through a mere kiss. Sirius couldn't focus beyond Remus' body and lips pressed against his, he nipped at the werewolf's bottom lip making Remus let out a tiny moan. The sound was enough though, to shake him from his reverie.

"Shit," Sirius panted, leaving Remus whining at the sudden lack. "Moony...Moony, really. We shouldn't be doing this."

They looked into each other's eyes. Remus could see the desire being valiantly held back in Sirius' eyes and he was sure that Sirius could see the same in his.

"Listen, it's not like I don't want to continue," Sirius continued but Remus held up a hand to shush him.

"I know, Padfoot, I know. You don't have to soothe my pride, I can definitely tell that you liked it."

Sirius actually blushed at this. Had circumstances been different Remus would have been jubilant at the fact that he had made the great Sirius Black blush, but this was definitely not the time for that.

"We better head back," Sirius said awkwardly.

"Yeah, we definitely should."

They made it back to the library without incident, thankfully. Once more safely ensconced in the enormously unhelpful stacks of books Remus and Sirius gazed at each other in bashful silence.

"Um," they both began.

"You first," Remus said.

"No, no you."

"Really, go."

"It's fine, you spoke first."

"Alright! Merlin!" Remus cursed. "What I was going to say was," he took a deep breath, apparently steeling himself. Sirius' heart sank at this gesture, knowing in his heart what it must mean. "What I was going to say was, I think we can work this out."

This was definitely not Sirius' day for graceful responses. His eyes bugged out and mouth gaped slightly open.

"What do you mean, Moony?" He asked quickly.

"I mean...well, I had a talk with Tonks the other night after we went to bed."

Sirius remained silent, his interest was piqued but he had no idea where this confession was going.

"She said," Remus continued, his speak broken and hesitant, "that if...if I felt that way then I had the right to act on it."

"No fucking way." Sirius was completely astounded and he wasn't sure he believed what he was hearing.

"Well, what she said was that I had obviously been in love with you for a long time but that obviously didn't stop me from loving her as well. And she says she feels perfectly well loved, even though I also have feelings for you."

"You have feelings for me?" Sirius quirked an eyebrow.

"Of for Merlin's sake, Sirius, of course I do!" Remus drew a shaky breath. "Anyway, because I have been able to love you both simultaneously and satisfy Tonks emotionally and well..." Remus blushed.

"Physically?" Sirius couldn't help letting a wicked smirk flit over his features.

"Yeah. Well, the short and long of it is, we decided that there aren't limits to how much one person can love. And she said that if I wanted to act on it then I could, as long as..."

"As long as?" Sirius prompted. Remus was beet red by now and refusing to meet his eyes.

"As long as she could do the same."

Sirius' eyes were probably going to fall out, they had bugged out of his head so many times that afternoon. Floored did not even describe it. Remus _and_ Tonks? They agreed to this? It sounded too amazing to be true!

"You both agreed to this? To...us three?" Sirius asked quietly, half afraid that if he paused to ask for confirmation the chance would pass him by.

"Yeah. Yeah, Padfoot, we agreed to it, if you're up for it too. The three of us could, I mean...Shit, we all love each other don't we? At least, I love you and vice versa and I love Tonks. She certainly has an interest in you..."

"I..." Sirius cleared his throat, in any other circumstances what he was about to say would be incredibly awkward. "I have to admit I like the thought of...of being with Tonks. She's pretty fantastic."

"She is," Remus agreed. Finally he lifted his head and cast a weak smile in Sirius' direction. "So...I guess, now that I've laid that all out there, are you up for it?"

Sirius walked quickly over to where Remus was standing, leaning up against one of the thousands of bookshelves, and cupped his friend's face in his hands. "I'm up for it Moony. I don't know how it's going to work, it sounds fucking crazy, but I'm up for trying." He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss, full of meaning, against Remus' lips.

Still in mutual shock the two made their way back to the small country cottage without speaking. Remus had grabbed hold of Sirius' hand when they got into the dank cellar and refused to let it go, not that Sirius was trying to get rid of him. He had a feeling that Remus was feeling exactly the same things he was: trepidation, relief, and excitement. They sat down on the back porch, watching the sun set, hands still clasped in one another's.

"Remus! Sirius! Are you guys home?" Tonks' loud voice broke them out of their quiet rest. Sirius jumped and tried to pull his hand free but Remus clung on stubbornly.

"I trust Tonks. She said this was ok, so it's ok." He said, staring hard into Sirius' eyes.

"I...ok," Sirius said lamely, but he let Remus keep ahold of his hand.

"We're out here, Nymphadora," Remus shouted over his shoulder. Two seconds later Tonks came bounding out the back door and skidded to a halt in front of them. Her eyes flicked down to their entwined hands but she continued without making an issue of it.

"Have you guys forgotten?" she was still screaming.

"Forgotten what?" Sirius asked.

"Today my preparations are done! Today I become an Animagus!" Tonks beamed and clapped her hands in excitement.

"Congratulations, love," Remus stood, pulled Tonks into his embrace and kissed her deeply.

"Yeah, congratulations, Tonks," Sirius said, also standing.

"Oh come here you, don't be a stranger," Tonks said playfully as she tugged Sirius closer. She planted an exuberant kiss on his lips and then hugged both men close, her naturally infectious happiness making all three smile.

"I'm sure you'll want dinner before you start working on that," Remus said and turned towards the kitchen but not before he shot a meaningful glance towards Sirius. It clearly said, you two have some talking to do. Sirius couldn't agree more.

Once Remus had gone inside Tonks turned to Sirius. "So I guess Remus finally got you, huh?" She said without preamble.

"Um...yes," Sirius replied. He prayed this would go smoothly.

"So, he told you what we agreed on?" Sirius nodded. "Then you agree?"

Sirius nodded again. Tonks' smile returned in full force and she launched herself at Sirius, jumping up onto his shoulders in and enthusiastic hug. "Good!"

"You're really okay with this, Tonks?" Sirius had to ask.

"Why? Don't you like me?" Sirius could tell she was ribbing him so he simply smiled wolfishly in response.

"Oh I like you well enough," he said, letting his hands slip from where they were holding Tonks around the waist down to her bum, giving the firm muscle a good squeeze.

"Hey now! You're getting handsy pretty quick!" Tonks smiled and gave him a quick kiss. Her lips were soft and full, the slightest touch of them made Sirius' insides quiver, a much stronger response than he had expected.

"We'll work this out, I promise," Tonks said suddenly. "If we all want it and care for each other enough, we can make everyone happy, I think."

Sirius felt his heart constrict. It was exactly what he needed to hear at this moment and he was touched that Tonks could read him well enough to know it. They smiled down at each other, not kissing but letting their noses nuzzle together in the growing gloom of twilight.

"You two coming if for dinner?" Remus' voice called through the screened door. "If we don't eat quick the Animagus spellwork will keep us up all night!"

With a triumphant bark Sirius tugged Tonks back towards the house. This had been an emotionally overwhelming day but it was perfect. For the first time since he got thrown into Azkaban Sirius was truly and unabashedly happy.

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><p><strong>Oh man, shit went DOWN in this one! So happy to finally be able to write some lovey-dovey goodness into this. I'm a big fan of triads, and this set up with these characters makes me so excited! We'll get back to plot when I've finished enjoying writing lurrrrrrrrrrve. Have a good week and drop a review! They keep me motivated.<strong>


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